The United Nations has launched a project to remove half-a-million tons of concrete rubble from Gaza Strip districts bombed and bulldozed by Israeli forces. Jens-Anders Toyberg-Frandzen of the United Nations Development Program said the residents of Gaza face an uphill battle in their attempt to rebuild from the war.

Jens-Anders Toyberg-Frandzen: “Well, at the moment we cannot rebuild. That is, of course, very sad. We don’t have access to cement, we don’t have access to construction material, because of the borders being closed. So we cannot build houses. But what we have to do is we have to remove the rubble before houses can be built, and there is nothing to prevent us from removing the rubble now that we have got the funds available to do so.”

Israel prohibits the import of cement and steel, which Gazans need to rebuild their homes, on the grounds that they could be used for military purposes by Hamas.